India embarks on US$18b digital plan

New Delhi

INDIA is set for a "digital revolution" as it implements a US$18 billion programme to expand high-speed Internet access and offer government services online, the nation's communications minister said.

Goals include broadband Internet for 250,000 clusters of villages by 2016 at a cost of about US$5.9 billion, cloud storage for citizens and making banking and other data accessible via mobile phones, Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.